Island Getaway From Me
by Asher Tye
Summary: Sonic and Tails decide to take a vacation, and Sonic knows just the place, the Flying Archipelago.  But, where the two pleasure seekers go, can the nefarious Dr. Robotnik ever be very far behind?
1. Act 1

Island Getaway (from me)

by Asher Tye

Disclaimer: Sonic and crew are all copyrighted to Sega and DiC.

Author's Note: Okay, so as you might be able to tell, this a bit of departure for me. I'm writing in the "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" universe, which is a lot less stringent on silly things like continuity, characterization… the laws of physics. I wanna see how funny I can make this, so any reviews to that affect would be greatly appreciated. One bit of order however. Though my vocabulary is quite voluminous, I in no way approach the level of description displayed by the show's resident walking thesaurus; Dr. Robotnik. That being said, I will try to use his alliterative and entertaining method of description whenever I can, but if I end up repeating myself, particularly when he's insulting others, please bear with me. Now then, ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

Act One: Repeat after me, I need a vacation.

* * *

"Hey Tails, take a look, you gotta see this," Sonic told his orange furred chum as he stared out the window of the passenger plane the duo were currently riding in. In the seat next to him Tails slept peacefully, a pair of headphones on his ears and a pillow behind his head. Not entirely unexpected as it had been a long trip. But still, Sonic wouldn't consider himself much of a 'Big Bro' if he let his best friend sleep through one of the most spectacular sights Mobius had to offer. Impatiently he shook the fox, causing him to stir.

"Mmmmph, wha, wha?" the kit asked sleepily, just a bit confused by his unfamiliar, and somewhat uncomfortable, surroundings. Brain cells snapped awake as the young Prower soon remembered he was on an airplane. "What's up Sonic? Did we land yet?"

"Not yet lil' bro, but I wanted you to see this," the cobalt hedgehog said as he helped Tails out of his seat to get a better view through the window. "I told you this trip was gonna be worth it, and here's the down payment on that promise." As azure eyes gazed out the window, they could only widen at what they saw. When Sonic had woken him up three days ago declaring he wanted to take a vacation, he'd told his double tailed colleague he'd had a special place in mind. Still the inexperienced fox's brain had not quite grasped how special until now.

Outside plane, four islands could be seen. What made this scene so breath taking was the fact that each island was floating, not on some body of water, but through the air itself. Even on a world that boasted so many wondrous natural phenomena as Mobius, the sight of four fairly big islands sailing through the air in perfect formation was indeed awe-inspiring.

"May I present, the Flying Archipelago," Sonic said to his dumbfounded charge.

"Archi-what-ago?" the fox asked, looking quizzically back at his big brother.

"Archipelago," the hedgehog repeated before explaining, "Fancy talk for a group of islands linked together." Tails "oh"-ed and went back to staring out the window.

"And we're really going to them?"

"Well only one for now; Mushroom Island, the resort." So saying the cobalt hedgehog pointed out the largest of the islands for Tails to see. A large beach complete with what looked like a sea dominated one half of the island, and the young engineer was hard pressed to figure out how the natives kept the water from spilling over the edge of the island itself. The other half had several large buildings, palm trees, and small secluded areas littering its face. Even from this vantage point Tails could see the beach was crowded with hundreds and hundreds of umbrellas, no doubt owned by Mobians who, like Sonic and Tails, were seeking relaxation and fun. Of course what got the little kit's attention most was the rather large looking amusement part situated near the beach; so bright and glittery it looked like a mini-sun on the island.

As the plane banked to give its passengers a better view of their destination, a custom for flights going to the Flying Archipelago, Sonic continued his mile high tour of the location. As it came up, he pointed out Echidna Island and the bustling city of the island chain's indigenous Mobians, the echidna, which stood upon it. Up next came Wild Island, the second largest of the four, possessed of a dense, untamed forest perfect for hiking and camping as well as three snowcapped mountains that, as Sonic so eloquently put it, had "the best darn snowboardin' in the entire world." Sharp eyes spotted what looked like buildings dotting the mountain, and thus was Tails told of the hot springs that were present as well. Knowing a little something about geothermal activity, the fox again had to wonder how the echidna managed this without a physical connection to the planet's own geothermal power source. He dismissed this as the last island came into view, this one flatter and possessed of fewer features than its more impressive siblings. Indeed it seemed to be dominated only by rolling hills and grass, with only a few trees, sometimes appearing in fair sized clusters, dotting the landscape. Despite this, there did seem to be animals moving about on the island's surface, and there was also a rather large, walled compound set up on the section closest to the other islands. Come to find out this was called Sanctuary Island, a sort of wildlife refuge where Mobian visitors could get a look at the non-sentient wildlife of the islands.

"Wow," Tails said for the umpteenth time as Mushroom Island came back into view.

"Yeah, it's breathtaking no matter how many times you been here," Sonic confirmed, causing his foxy sidekick to look at him.

"You've been here before Sonic?" he asked in a wondering voice.

"Sure, before I met you. Haven't been back since though," the hedgehog explained. When Tails gave him another quizzical look, Sonic continued. "We have been kinda busy keed." This explanation seemed to satisfy the ever curious vulpine, who turned back to look out the window.

"Excuse me, sir," began a stewardess as she leaned over to stare at the two Mobians, "we've been given clearance to land, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you and your little friend to buckle up in your seat." Obediently Sonic and Tails complied, though not without a disappointed groan from the kit. As he once more sat in his assigned seat, Tails cast a wistful look out the window again, hoping to catch one last look at the islands before he was actually on them. Though initially disappointed Sonic had opted to use a public airplane rather than fly Air-Tails, the kit had to admit the plane had provided a breathtakingly spectacular view of the Flying Archipelago the fox himself wouldn't have been able to match without several rest stops.

* * *

Only a few hours later, Tails's opinion of the Flying Archipelago, and indeed of flying in general, had taken a decidedly frosty turn, as evidenced by the grumpy look on his face, complete with triangular ears lying flat against his head.

"Come on Tails, it wasn't that bad," an equally irritable Sonic said as he hefted a large suitcase off the curb outside the airport. Not possessed of a great many material goods, the two friends had decided to split a suitcase filled with their essentials, namely changes of socks, gloves, and toiletries, with plenty of extra space to cart back gifts for their friends back home. At Sonic's words, Tails merely turned his angry gaze on the blue hedgehog, causing the speedster to roll his eyes in frustration before heading off to the hotel they'd be staying at. "Everyone has to go through customs, kid, there's no point in pouting just because you didn't like it." And indeed, had it merely been going through airport customs, Tails might have simply let the event die. Unfortunately, that had not been the case.

Though they had opened their islands up as a vacation spot, the echidnas were notoriously obstinate when it came to security. Unfamiliar with check-in procedures, when asked if he had anything to declare, Tails had gone into a long litany, declaring his love for games, how much he enjoyed running, and several other inane little tidbits the fox was eager to share with anyone who'd listen. The overworked echidna running the check in station, unwilling to tolerate what he perceived as an ill-mannered surface brat making sport of him, had been fairly quick to snap at the cub. Of course Sonic had stepped in to defend his little bro, but by then the damage had been done. Both Mobians had been pulled aside for "additional" screening.

That the echidna security guards had been adamant about him proving every detail of his passport was accurate (as if he'd grown or something during the flight over) had been irritating enough but then the subject of his unusual posterior appendages had come up. Because a previous traveler had used a fake tail to try to sneak contraband onto the islands, Security had insisted young Miles prove both spinal extremities were his. Apparently the fact that both were waggling about quite anxiously was not enough. That his guardian had currently been embroiled in a rather heated argument with his own inspectors as to why he needed to confirm his real name did not help. And so Tails had stood quietly as the echidnas passed a handheld scanner over each fluffy appendage, checking them for any form of fakery. In the end, both Mobians had managed to come out of the Security Office unscathed and ready to start their vacation, though Tails had been informed that, as a minor, he was required to wear a computerized locator band around his wrist so they could keep track of him. It was at that point the fox had made his second mistake, stating unequivocally that the next time he came to visit the archipelago; he'd just fly up himself. This might not have been so bad if he had actually paid attention to Sonic's frantically waving hands and not proceeded to demonstrate the unique talent his twin tails gave him.

An hour later they'd finally been allowed to leave, though Tails had been informed there was now a very detailed file on him and that he would be in violation of the Islands' laws if he were to ever appear unannounced. Needless to say, this had all contributed to the fox's bad mood, a mood he'd only kept when they arrived at their hotel.

"Okay, you wanna be huffy, fine, then just stay with the bags here while I check in," Sonic said as he set down the suitcase for Tails to sit on and then walked over to the desk. Left alone with no one to see how angry he was, the fox's mood eased up a little as he looked around the hotel. Though it was not the poshest hotel on Mushroom Island, it was still very nice looking. Native plants sat in pots all over the place, while a fountain sat in the middle of the check-in area. Several paintings dotted the walls, though Tails's artist's eye could spot that these were merely prints. Not that he was surprised; after all, what were the odds that the real "Moaning Eliza" painting was hanging in a hotel. A few flags were also hanging as well, most notably the Flying Archipelago's own depicting five rings of differing colors bound together in a circle with what looked like a crystal in the center. Finally his attention wandered down to his wrist and the band securely attached around it. Before his fertile mind could think of something to do with it, Sonic returned baring two plastic cards in his hands. "Feeling any better?" he asked.

"A bit," Tails admitted as he hopped off the suitcase for Sonic to collect. The two rode the elevator up to the fourth floor of the hotel and quickly found their room. After one or two attempts to synchronize pushing the keycard in and turning the handle, both fox and hedgehog managed to make it inside. Inside the room had a desk, a sofa, a dresser, and a single king-sized bed for the fox and hedgehog to share. Ever the walking stomach, Tails made an almost immediately bee-line for what looked to be the room's honor bar, rummaging through it as he looked for something good. Thinking that an influx of sugar would help to further take the edge off his little buddy's mood, Sonic simply told him to only take one candy bar before dropping the suitcase and flopping up on the bed.

"I hate jet-lag," the blue one said as he stretched tiredly on the mattress and reached for the remote to the television so he could see what was on.

"Oh, see if you can get Professor Von Schlemmer's Scientastic Phoogin-Grabbin," Tails suggested. Though not an avid TV watcher, there were some programs the young fox found he couldn't resist.

"Sorry keed, only programs that show up here from the surface are basic channels. This place needs to be closer to an actual station to get surface stuff, an' they only do that for special stuff," Sonic explained as he tuned to the local sports channel. Tails frowned at this news but soon opted to forget about it, hopping into the bed and snuggling up against his hero and mentor. The trip must have taken more out of him than he let on because very soon a light snoring sound was coming from the kit's mouth. Only a few minutes later the same sound was coming from Sonic as he too fell asleep.

* * *

With a loud yawn Tails awoke from slumber. He felt much better than he had the day before. At some point during his siesta, someone had decided to put the little boy under the covers of the bed, and it was perhaps a mark of how tired he'd been that he hadn't even noticed. It was then that he realized that he was now alone in the room. Azure eyes cast about, but there was no sign of Sonic the Hedgehog, nor did it sound like he was availing himself of the facilities in the bathroom. For a few brief moments, the confused cub wondered what had become of his best friend. His thoughts were interrupted with the sound of the door handle jiggling about as someone tried to gain entry. A frustrated curse could be heard as again the door jiggled, this time the handle successfully turning as from behind it Sonic let himself in.

"Promise me when you become a big time inventor, the first thing you're gonna do is make these stupid doors open when ya want 'em to," the hedgehog said as he noticed his companion was awake. Tails let out a small laugh before he noticed Sonic had not returned to the room empty-handed. He was balancing two trays of food, which probably accounted for his trouble with the door's lock. Carefully Sonic set down the two trays on the nightstand, and Tails moved over to inspect the contents. Bacon, eggs, toast, and a cup of juice sat on each one, obviously intended to be breakfast.

"Eat up quick, kid, we got a busy day ahead of us," the hedgehog said.

"Mmf thou-mff we were mff vacation, mff-nic," Tails pointed out, his mouth stuffed full with a slice of toast that caused him to spit soggy bread crumbs as he talked. Making a hard swallow, the mouthful disappeared down the vulpine's throat as he continued. "What do we have to do?" Wiping his face of the debris caused by his best friend talking with his mouth full, Sonic gave the kit an annoyed look before answering.

"Well, I thought we'd get in some sightseeing, then we have a friend to go visit."

"Friend?" the fox asked. "We know someone up here?"

"Well; I know someone up here, but don't worry, you'll get to meet him too, provided we don't miss our ride. Now eat your breakfast, bro." Very soon both trays were emptied of their contents and both Mobians' bellies were full. Taking a few moments to make sure Tails combed his fur and looked presentable, the duo once more left their room heading downstairs and past the receptionist's desk. In doing so, they also passed the complimentary breakfast bar, inadvertently garnering the attention of one its patrons; a short creature wearing a non-descript trench-coat that covered his entire body… save for the long thin, gray and red tail coming out of the bottom and the large, clear light bulb sitting on top. As soon as the hedgehog and fox had safely exited the building, the "mysterious" stranger quickly grabbed hold of his tray (actually four trays bonded together to hold the gargantuan amount of food that had been piled upon them, much to the annoyance of the line's other patrons) and bolted for the elevator.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the penthouse suite of the same hotel, events of an all together different nature was transpiring.

"Careful with that you neanderthalic numbskulls," a gruff voice yelled. This voice came from a large, egg-shaped gentleman with a large red nose and sporting a bright red mustache that seemed to shoot out past his shoulders. Of course this could be none other than the nefarious Dr. Robotnik, Mobius's number one national villain, full time near-do-well, and international sudoku champion. The rotund doctor shook his meaty fist and stamped his stubby leg as he yelled in fury, his normally pink skin now a deep fuchsia thanks to his venting temper. The object, or rather objects, of his rage were his two lackeys; Scratch, a five foot tall robotic rooster, and his identical twin brother Grounder, who resembled a two foot high mole on tank treads. Held betwixt the two of them was what looked like a giant can with lights and wires attached to its top, all blinking and buzzing with electricity despite the noticeable lack of a power source. The two primary members of the Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad carried the contraption over to a wall, setting it down next to a second, identical machine.

"Remind me again, your most Supreme of Super Scientists," Scratch began to ask in a warbling voice that sounded as though it had been ground by a millstone, "why are we moving these things again? They were hard enough to sneak into the hotel last night."

"Because it gives you something to do," Robotnik replied with his usual flourish. "If you're busy doing something for me, then the odds become significantly less that you'll be messing up something else, thus preventing me from having to visit terrible pain and damage upon your watered down wetware."

"Ah, that's nice of you," Grounder said in his ever chipper, much more musical voice. Once the cylinder was secured in place, the hands the mole-like robot had been using to grip it retracted into his forearms, quickly being replaced by a pair of gray drills that were his usual appendage of choice.

"Yes, well, I do spoil the two of you rotten. A character flaw I suppose," the mustachioed madman rationalized, even as both his minions uttered placations along the lines of him possessing no flaws whatsoever. "Now where is that lazy layabout Coconuts with my breakfast? I'm so hungry, I'm practically wasting away to skin and bones," the doctor lamented as he stood before a mirror, opening up his nightshirt to reveal a body that was anything but skin and bones. Even at their sycophantic best, both Scratch and Grounder found themselves turning their heads away in disgust at the sight of their creator's bulbous and blubbery physique.

Robotnik's lamentations were soon interrupted by a rapid fire series of knocks at his hotel room's door, startling all three of the occupants. Quietly Robotnik made a few hand gestures, mimicking the actions of an army sergeant he'd seen in some war movie. That his movements meant nothing itself meant nothing as both of his minions got the gist of their orders. Grounder's left drill returned to his forearm and a baseball bat soon appeared even as Scratch readied a handy-dandy laser pistol he always kept stashed in his tail feathers. Though Dr. Robotnik had legitimately rented this room, under a clever pseudonym, of course, but still legitimately, more than a few of the pieces of equipment they'd brought with them would clearly give them away if spotted. Carefully Dr. Robotnik placed a red eye against the door's peephole.

"Who is it?" he asked, his voice innocent and saccharine sweet in an approximation of the most innocent creature he knew, namely Sonic's two tailed little sidekick.

"Doc, Doc, you gotta let me in! Da keycard ain't workin' and I got news!" Coconuts answered back, his voice clearly excited and agitated as he continued to make a disturbing racket. Realizing that such a commotion would invariably draw unwanted attention, the wide girthed human quickly opened the door and yanked his simian creation into the room, almost causing the monkey-bot to drop the trays of food. Quickly Robotnik had the red and grey robot put the tray down so as to prevent this from happening in the future as well.

"Now then, what is this news that's so important you nearly destroyed my breakfast?"

"I saw Sonic, Doctor Robotnik, right here, in the hotel, yup yup!" the agitated ape began to screech.

"WHAT!" Robotnik bellowed, a horrible sinking feeling appearing in the pit of his stomach.

"Yeah, yeah, him and his sidekick Tails was down in the lobby while I was there!" The human was no longer listening to his underling, however, having felt a weakness in his legs that caused him to sit down upon his bed.

"How did the hated hedgehog know I was here?" Robotnik queried. "I didn't even tell my milkman I was leaving the fortress. We cannot allow him to interfere with my plans."

"Plans?" Grounder asked in confusion, staring at his creator from behind sunglasses and having donned a rather loud floral print shirt and a straw hat. "I thought we came here for vacation."

"No you ninny-bot, we're not on vacation- or, at least, you three nimrod-trons aren't."

"Ah nuts." At this news the small green robot dejectedly removed his vacation gear and stuffed it in his torso compartment.

"We're here for one purpose, and one purpose only, to steal the one item on this island which will give us the power to conquer the entire world," Robotnik declared, his voice rising in volume to the point where it could be heard through walls. That his own actions might have blown his cover was completely lost on the Doctor. "And I will not allow that hated hedgehog to spoil our chances of obtaining this priceless artifact."

"I don't think they knows we're here though, Doc," Coconuts interrupted, causing the flamboyant scientist to look at him.

"What, hey?"

"Well, Sonic and da fox brat didn't even notice me, an' I was standin' right there. 'Course I was in disguise an' all, so they probably wouldn't ah anyway. But it looked like they had other things on their minds," the cyber simian related back. Even as he did so, the CPU that housed his artificial intelligence began to call up and play back the images captured by his robotic eyes just moments ago for his own clarification. "Yup, they definitely didn't seem ta be all that concoined about us bein' here."

"Well what else would they be here for, the-" Suddenly, the angry frown that had decorated the doctor's face for most of the morning vanished, replaced by a wide smile that effectively showed off each one of the human's meticulously cared for pearl white teeth. The tips of his moustache rose into the air, the red hairs almost seeming to become brighter as his mood elevated and a twinkle came to his red and black eyes as realization dawned on him. "They're on vacation…" As he spoke, each of the three robots in the room with him leaned in closer, processors working over time as each tried to reach the same logical conclusion as their master. More advanced than Coconuts and not encumbered by a multitude of subroutines that tended to scatter Grounder, Scratch was the first to make a theory.

"They don't know we're here," the chicken-bot half stated and half-asked. When his creator's smile did not fade, he knew he'd hit upon the right train of thought.

"Precisely. Sonic and Tails are no more aware of us being here than the echidnas. They're just here to relax, soak up sun, and have fun; a fact that we can use to our advantage and finally be rid of that meddlesome blue busybody."

"Ooh, ooh, me, me," Grounder begged as he jumped up and down with his treads and waved his drills about excitedly. When Robotnik's attention fell on him, the green robot smiled. "And then we can just take what we need from the islands without anyone to stop us, right?"

"Correct maboy," the demented dictator replied. "And then, the world will be our giant, egg-shaped, oyster!" Robotnik turned to Coconuts. "Now then, my little informant, just where did our spiky speedster go?" The robot monkey opened his mouth happily, ready to reveal this bit of crucial information to the mad scientist, only to suddenly realize he had no idea where Sonic and Tails had headed after they'd opened the hotel door and left. At his hesitation, Robotnik began to get impatient. "Well?"

"Uh, heh-heh, I kinda didn't pay… attention," Coconuts squeaked a bit, backing up to what was hopefully out of the doctor's reach. He proved to have underestimated the length of Robotnik's arms as a meaty hand suddenly grabbed him by the light bulb on his head, yanking him right up to his creator's face.

"WHAT?"

"Well I just thought you'd want to know Sonic was here, so I left as soon as I could so I really wasn't watching when they left," the desperate monkey tried to explain. As he noticed Robotnik's large teeth were now cracking as the ovoid human ground them, Coconuts realized his explanation had failed to placate the doctor. "This is gonna hoit, ain't it." Coconuts's answer came with the sound of something very hard hitting something not quite so hard as bits of monkey-bot suddenly hit the wall of the suite, followed closely but Coconuts's severed and dazed head. "Eh… I go through more spare parts dat way."

* * *

"Cowabunga!" Sonic cried as he rode his surfboard across the rolling waves of Mushroom Island's famous beach. A side glance caused the teen hedgehog to notice he'd garnered attention from the shore, namely in the form of three very curvaceous beach bunnies that were waving and whistling at him. Clearly all three were very interested in what they saw. Testosterone surged through the speedster's body as he did what he normally did when he found himself with an audience; namely put on a show.

Suddenly he was a blue blur as he bounced about his board, performing handstands, posing like a crane, and even doing a bit of break-dancing, much to the amusement of the three lapines. Unfortunately Sonic was so busy with his showing off that he forgot to keep track of the wave he was riding. Thus it was that a sudden surge of water was able to throw his board out from under him, causing the azure Mobian to go flying into the artificial ocean. A few seconds later, a spiky head broke the surface, spitting out water from his mouth as a humiliated Sonic swam miserably over to his waiting surfboard. Another glance at the beach confirmed his worst fears. Lacking free entertainment, the three ladies' collective attention had refocused to someone else, someone with large, bulging muscles who was currently busy flexing them in the sun.

"Ah nuts," Sonic said dejectedly, cursing his own noodley arms lack of girl pleasing biceps. The sound of water spraying broke the hedgehog from his funk as Tails pulled up alongside his big brother, his tails spinning in reverse to propel him forward on the small, spongy body board he was riding.

"That was so totally awesome, Sonic; the most epic wipeout I've ever seen," the fox proclaimed excitedly. Despite the slightly annoyed look Sonic was currently giving his biggest fan, the hedgehog had to admit the cub was providing a refreshing breeze of accolades to his bruised ego. Deciding he couldn't bear to burst the kit's bubble, a smile quickly appeared on the teen's face as he climbed up on his board to sit.

"Like I always say, lil' bro, anything worth doing is worth doing big time." A shrill whistle broke up the charm of the moment. From the beach, a purple echidna with a silvery whistle in his lips was waving his arms and doing all he could to attract the two Mobians' attention. Annoyed looks came now to the faces of both hero and sidekick as they recognized this as the sign that the rental time on their water toys was almost up. Looking back at his younger brother, Sonic made a suggestion. "Hey, Tails, how about a race back to shore?"

"OnetwothreeGO!" answered the fox as his namesakes twirled up and he quickly zoomed off, taking as much of a head start off the surprised Sonic as he could. Watching his protégé as he took off, the hedgehog could only shake his head.

"You'd think he'd learn by now." Tan arms spun so fast that they appeared to resemble tan disk, hands dipping into the water as the blue surfer took off like a shot. Shouts of surprise and cries of fright came from all the other hapless vacationers caught in the rather violent wake created by the impromptu race. As he moved, Tails couldn't help but smile as he saw the beach draw nearer. The distance between their former position and the shore was not terribly great, the equivalent of a short sprint for the two fastest creatures on Mobius in actuality, so in all likelihood the lead he'd taken would prove enough to let him beat Sonic. An underhanded victory maybe, but the fox was willing to take it, particularly given Sonic constantly boasted he was the fastest thing alive. Just as the young boy could taste the sweet flavor of victory, the feeling of a finger tapping his shoulder drew his attention. Tails looked to the side just in time to see Sonic grinning at him as the hedgehog zoomed by, his arms two blurs of motion as he easily passed his best bud. Mere feet before his surfboard would have hit the sand, Sonic jumped off, flipping through the air to make a perfect three-point landing on the beach.

Unfortunately, in his haste to show off, Sonic had forgotten about the cord fastened to his ankle that connected him to the board. As soon as that cord had been pulled taut, the surfboard had left the water and gone sailing through the air, smacking itself flatly against the hedgehog's head and sending him splayed to the ground rather unceremoniously.

"Sonic, are you all right?" Tails asked as he raced up and flipped the large board off his big brother and hero.

"Ouch," came the reply in a semi-sarcastic tone. After all, it wasn't as though the teen speedster didn't possess a rather high threshold for pain thanks to all his battles with Dr. Robotnik.

"Hey you," called the echidna salesman who had rented the water toys to the fox and hedgehog, "you better not have scratched up my board with that stunt, or you can kiss your deposit good-bye." Just a little annoyed by this lack of concern for a customer, Sonic was on his feet in a second.

"Scratch your board? SCRATCH your BOARD? You're stupid board just flattened my nose," the hedgehog complained, pointing to his aching shnoz as he did so. Not to be out-angried, the echidna was just as quick to get in Sonic's face.

"It's no less than you deserve. What kinda idiot tries a stunt as stupid as you did with a piece of wood attached to his leg?" the Mobian yelled back before pointing to Tails. "At least your fuzzy little friend over there knows how to treat someone else's property with some level of respect. You could stand to learn a thing or two from him." At this impromptu praise, Tails beamed a bit, only hiding his proud smile when he noticed Sonic's look of annoyed betrayal. Before either of the two heroes could react, the echidna grabbed hold of his surf and body boards and took them back to his rental stand.

With no more reason to hang out at the shore, Sonic and Tails made their way back to the umbrella and two beach towels they'd claimed until noon. With a thud, Sonic sat down on his towel, grabbing hold of the sunshades he'd left there and putting them on as he lay back down on his arms.

"So… what are we gonna do now?" Tails asked, at a loss for activities to keep himself occupied until it was time to go. Whatever special appointment Sonic had set up for them, the hedgehog was keeping the details close to his tan furred chest.

"Well, I don't know about you Mr. Responsibility," Sonic said, getting in a bit of ribbing on his best friend, "but I intend to sit back and soak up some rays." So saying, Sonic's foot rose up to tip back the umbrella a bit to let the sun shine on him. A disappointed look came to Tails's face. While lying back in the sun might have been Sonic's idea of a good time, a lad of the kit's age couldn't bear to remain still with so many things going on around him.

"Maybe I'll just have a look around then, see if I can't find someone to play with," the fox said, getting up to go for a walk. A gloved hand suddenly grabbed his furry arm.

"Uh uh, remember the rules kiddo."

"I know, I know. No going where I can't see you or you can't see me, and no talking to any adults I don't know," the younger Mobian said as his guardian released him.

"Just makin' sure little bro. Just 'cause we're on vaykay doesn't mean we toss out ALL the rules." With that said, Sonic once more settled down for a nap. Casting a glance about the beach, foxy eyes soon landed on an abandoned pail and shovel. Suddenly a mischievous grin soon crossed the vulpine's face.

* * *

An hour or so later, Sonic began to stir again, yawning as he did so. He was quite surprised to find himself suddenly getting a mouthful of sand. His eyes opening all the way, the blue hedgehog was quite surprised to find himself covered in sand. An intense giggling nearby told Sonic exactly who was responsible for his current predicament. Turning his head to the side he was not surprised to see Tails clutching his belly and laughing over successfully having buried his hero in sand. More than that, the fox had apparently found the time to sculpt the sand, transforming Sonic into a rather skillful representation of a merhog. It didn't help the situation that a crowd of beachgoers had gathered to "ooh" and "aah" at the kit's creation, saving the moment by snapping pictures of Sonic's predicament.

"Okay, okay, enough already," Sonic said, wiggling his way out of his sandy tomb and collapsing it on the towel he'd been laying on. Sensing that the show was now over, the crowd dispersed though the culprit of the crime continued his merry laughter. Casting the vulpine a look, Sonic pulled free his towel. "A whole beach to play in and this is all you could come up with?"

"I thought about making a sandcastle, but I didn't want to get too far away from you," Tails responded, an innocent grin on his face. Sonic sighed a bit before glancing at his watch.

"Well it's getting close to go time, so we better return our stuff." The azure teen draped his towel over his shoulder before collapsing their umbrella, and then tossed the overly large items towards his small entourage. "And since you're so full of energy, Mr. Fun, you can carry it back for me."

"Ah, but it's so heavy."

"Ah, but it's only a few yards," the teen mocked back, pointing to the stand that was really not that far from them. "Besides, thanks to some furry little person who will remain nameless, I gotta go wash the sand outta my quills. Now meet me over by the shower stalls when you're done, and I'll let you keep the deposit the vendor gives ya, okay?" His spirits buoyed up by the prospect of easy money, Tails trotted off with the umbrella and towels as Sonic went to wash himself off. It took little time of course, but it certainly made the hedgehog feel better. Soon dried thanks to one of the complimentary towels, Sonic stepped out to find Tails waiting for him, hands behind his head as he leaned against the wall, a wondering expression on his face.

"We good?" Sonic asked of his little brother, referring to the return of the beach equipment. The last thing he needed was for some hotheaded echidna to come tromping after him believing he'd stolen the Mobian's wares. Tails nodded at his big brother, and then opened his mouth.

"Sonic, why do all the flags have those five rings on them?" the fox asked, indicating a banner that hung from the rental shack, and indeed every other structure they could see.

"Oh that? That's just the Flying Archipelago's national flag," Sonic said absentmindedly as he and Tails began to leave. "'One ring for each of the islands in the chain, linked together in a show of eternal unity.'"

"Oh," Tails said, seemingly satisfied with this answer. Then his eyes widened as he thought of something else. "But there are only four islands."

"Huh?"

"When we got here, I only saw four islands. So why are there five rings?" It was at this point that Sonic got a shifty look on his face, his eyes darting from side to side before he kneeled next to Tails.

"Can you keep a secret bro?" he whispered into one of the kit's overly large ears. Looking about and trying to see what Sonic was suddenly so wary of, Tails quickly nodded. "Okay, well here it is. Supposedly there's a fifth island, Angel Island, that floats in the center of the main four, rising and falling throughout the day between them." At this seemingly fantastical tale, the fox cub's eyes widened. Even given the tremendous faith he placed in his hedgehog hero, the young inventor might have found this a little too wild a story to believe… if it weren't for the fact he was currently standing on an island that was already flying through the air. What was one more that couldn't decide on its altitude in the grand scheme of things? Still, he had to be sure his big brother wasn't pulling his leg.

"Seriously?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"If you don't believe me, just wait till we get where we're going, lil' bro," Sonic said with a smile as he resumed their trek back towards the interior of Mushroom Island. Eagerly his twin-tailed companion followed, very much excited to see a flying island up close. Even the other sites of Mushroom town, a town designed with the idea of keeping tourists' attention, did little to distract him. The two Mobians raced across the island, stopping only when they reached the guardrail fence that cordoned off the edge. Crowded at the fence was what looked like several dozen surface Mobians, all holding cameras and "ooh"-ing and "ah"-ing at the view. Of course it didn't take long for the fox to realize that these people weren't here merely to look down at the planet from afar, especially when above them all he could see what looked like a titanic rock slowly descending through the air. The fox cast a questioning look at Sonic, only to receive a sheepish one in return. "What can I say; worst kept secret on Mobius."

Before Tails could walk up and take his place near the rail to view the mysterious Angel Island, Sonic suddenly grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him off.

"Sonic, where are we going? I thought this is what we were waiting for," the fox asked as he gave a token struggle, not wanting to miss the show.

"We gotta hurry or we'll miss our chance to get onto the island," Sonic said matter-of-factly, even as he fiddled with the tracking device attached to Tails's wrist.

"They let people go out to it?"

"Uh… not exactly," the hedgehog admitted in a hushed tone as he managed to get the tracker off of Tails's wrist and laid it carefully behind a bush where hopefully no one would find it. Turning back to his little brother, the blue hedgehog then motioned for him to follow quietly as they moved away from the group. Once they were someplace private, Sonic gathered up the twin tailed kit and crouched down, his legs in position to sprint. Before Tails could ask the obvious question, Sonic shot forward, his legs a blur as he sped towards the guardrail just as Angel Island drew level with Mushroom. Making a short jump, the hedgehog positioned himself on the barrier quickly before making a fantastic leap from the edge of the island. Fox and hedgehog hurtled through the air in a spectacular fashion, Sonic tucking his body into a ball around Tails as he moved to keep his hold on the kit. For a brief moment or two, the orange and blue blur shot through the air before disappearing into the dense foliage that protected the perimeter of Angel Island.

To be continued…


	2. Act 2

Island Getaway (From Me)

by Asher Tye

Disclaimer: Sega owns Sonic and crew, and that includes Robotnik. I'm not sure who owns the other characters, whether it be Archie, DiC, or whoever did Sonic Underground, but I know it's not me so whichever one owns them I give full props to.

Author's Note: It's been a long wait, mainly because Knuckles is a hard character to write comedy for that doesn't seem self-depreciating. Hopefully I haven't lost any of you with how long it's been. Enjoy.

* * *

Act 2: What part of PRIVATE don't you people understand?

* * *

Knuckles smiled as he wandered about Angel Island's undergrowth, his eyes to the ground and a metal detector in his hands. The crimson echidna teen enjoyed his daily treasure hunts. They were a fine way to relax after a busy morning, and nobody had busier mornings than Knuckles. Every so often the machine in his gloved hands beeped at a regular interval, indicating it was still actively scanning.

_'Only ten more minutes of play time to go,'_ the young Guardian thought as he looked at his watch, a smile on his face.

Knuckles was a creature of habit, a being of repetition. Each and every day of his life could be measured against all the others with little deviation, a source of pride for him. If there was no difference day in and day out, it meant there was no trouble, no surprises he had to deal with. And that meant he was doing his job correctly, flawlessly, and all was perfect with the world.

Yes, everything was perfect.

Which, in hindsight, should have served as a rather blunt form of foreshadowing.

"GERONIMO!" yelled a voice as a blue blur suddenly exploded out of the vegetation and tackled the crimson treasure hunter, knocking him to the ground. Though possessed of immense physical power, the attack had caught Knuckles completely off guard and thus it was that he was unable to mount any sort of defense as he and his assailant tumbled away for several feet. As his vision cleared, Knuckles prepared to fight back, only to do the echidna version of a double-take when he recognized just whose spiky butt was now sitting on his chest.

"Oh no," he suddenly lamented, "not you again!"

"That's right, Knucklehead," Sonic said with a triumphant smile as he looked down at his old friend. "The one and only main hedgehog is back."

"You certainly got the 'hog' part right," Knuckles wheezed out. "Get your fat butt offa me!" The echidna bucked hard, bringing his legs up and hooking them under the egotistical hedgehog's arms. Flexing his muscles, the young Guardian sent the speedster flying back into the bushes. The force of the throw was enough to allow Knuckles to flip to his feet as well, and his first instinct was to give chase. Sonic was an intruder to Angel Island after all and that needed to be addressed before anything else as far as Knuckles was concerned. Racing over to the bushes Sonic had sailed into, the echidna reared back his right fist to teach the hedgehog the error of surprise attacks.

"I'll teach you to sucker punch meeeee… WOAH!" Behind the bush the Guardian had found, not Sonic, but an unfamiliar little fox cub. Though there wasn't an age where trespassers were permitted on Angel Island, it wasn't Knuckles's policy to beat up cubs that hadn't even hit double digits yet, no matter what they were doing.

The fist stopped just short of Tails's nose, so close that the air being displaced by it became a breeze that could be felt by the fox. This fact was not lost on the youth as his blue eyes focused in on the twin knucklespikes protruding from the fist, both of which looked every bit as sharp as he could imagine. Suddenly the vulpine's eyes rolled back up into his head and his legs simply gave out as he fell down in a dead faint.

"Hey ya jerk, what'dya do that for?" an irate Sonic yelled as he tromped back from further in the underbrush, quickly grabbing hold of Tails to make sure the cub was all right. Never one to suffer accusations, no matter what his role in an event may have been, Knuckles simply crossed his arms and put on his favorite "no nonsense" scowl.

"Don't blame me, hedgehog, I didn't even hit him," he responded, before adding. "You're welcome for that by the way. It's not exactly easy to stop one of my punches."

"You're such a softie." Sonic began to lightly slap Tails's face, trying to wake him up. From a satchel he wore at his side, Knuckles pulled forth a vial of smelling salts, a handy tool to have, and waved it under the cub's nose. The effect was immediate as Tails's face scrunched up and his head shook, his eyes opening as he came too.

"Wha… what happened?" the dazed vulpine asked.

"You nearly got your head taken off," Knuckles bluntly stated, then pointed at Sonic. "Which I'm still holding you responsible for."

"ME?" the indignant sprinter yelled back. "Who's the one who overreacted and tried to punch his lights out?"

"One: I wasn't aiming for him; I was aiming for you, and two: it's not over-reacting to attack a pair of intruders I find on my island."

"Oh not this again," Sonic said, slapping his forehead. "I told you I'm not interested in some musty old chunk of rock. I'm perfectly harmless."

"'No Trespassers' means no trespassers, spiky, doesn't matter if you're here for the emerald or chasing a Frisbee that got away from you. And I know for darn sure it doesn't mean bring your friends," the echidna pointed out, indicating Tails. "There are four other islands hovering all around this one, couldn't you have occupied yourselves somewhere else?"

"Oh come on, and pass up the opportunity to let my best bud see a living legend. By the way, since you're too rude to ask, his name is…"

"Tails, right?" Knuckles suddenly asked, looking right at the fox and surprising both him and the hedgehog.

"Uh, have we met?" Tails asked innocently extending a hand in greeting. All this received from the Guardian was an amused expression.

"I'm not as isolated as you two seem to think," Knuckles explained as Tails withdrew his hand unshaken. "I keep abreast of what's going on down on the surface, and it is rather hard to miss seeing Sonic and his little sidekick."

"News interrupted a rugby game, didn't it?" Sonic quipped

"More times than I can count. Which only makes me even less willing to let you stay here since it tends to break in just as someone's about to score."

"Wow, talk about a flimsy excuse to be mad."

"Is there any reason you came here, or are you just on a quest to annoy ALL the echidna up here?" Knuckles asked in an accusing voice.

"Maybe we should leave if we're not welcome here, Sonic," Tails suggested. Though the kit had infinite faith in his big bro and personal superhero's ability to do anything, memories of a very big fist with two very sharp points on it mere inches from his face were very much fresh in his mind. Sonic, however, was nonplussed.

"Don't let Red's attitude problem get to ya, Big Guy. He's not nearly as bad as he wants ya to believe." A sudden sharp crack signaled Knuckles's fist colliding with a conveniently placed large boulder. The stone shattered from the force of the blow as the echidna cast a knowing grin at his two interlopers. Tails's eyes went wide as he witnessed this impromptu display before rolling back into his head as he fainted dead away.

"Knuckles!" Sonic yelled in annoyance as he caught his little friend.

"Geez, it was just a joke. Talk about a weak constitution," the echidna said, drawing forth his smelling salts again. Once more the two teens revived the fallen fox.

"Wha… What happened?" he asked groggily.

"You fainted… again," Angel Island's sole resident answered bluntly. "You might want to consider getting more iron in your diet."

"Knuckles."

"All right, all right. Sorry I scared you like that; I didn't think giving a rock a tap would make you go all wonky." Tails accepted this somewhat backhanded apology, though privately he decided he would be giving the echidna a rather wide berth. "Okay, so now that we're all nicey-nice and friendly, you mind telling me what you're doing here?"

"We're on vay-kay, Knux. You know what a vacation is don'tcha?" Knuckles merely looked at the hedgehog and fox, already knowing what Sonic wanted, but unwilling to give voice to it lest he just give the two of them ideas.

"Sonic said you know a lot about the islands," Tails pointed out. "He said you'd know all the best places to go, places nobody else would know about."

"Oh he did, did he?" Knuckles crossed his arms. It was not lost on him why Tails was the one saying this last part over Sonic. "You do know I'm not supposed to leave this island without a good reason, right?"

"What could be a better reason then showing a pair of old friends a good time?" the blue one asked innocently.

"So we're old friends now are we?" Still, Knuckles had to admit he was tempted. It had been almost six weeks since he'd left his home and even the famous Guardian of Angel Island was not immune to the allure of the other four islands. And really, it wasn't like he wouldn't be able to return to his charge in the blink of an eye, so long as he remained upon the Archipelago.

Plus the puppy-dog eyes he was receiving from both of the mainlanders were not helping his resolve.

"All right, all right. I suppose it won't hurt anything if I take a day off and show you around. But so help me Chaos, hedgehog, if you come back in another few years with another cub in tow I'll punt you off the archipelago."

"That's all I ask, Rad Red," Sonic said, shaking the echidna's hand. It was then that Tails posed the obvious question.

"So, how do we get back? Do we wait for the islands to get level again, because I don't think I can airlift both of you up that far," he said, pointing to Mushroom Island which could even now just be seen in the sky above Angel's tree line. Knuckles chuckled a bit.

"Follow me fox-boy. Unlike Sonic, I'm allowed to travel between this island and the others, so I have a means of transport." Knuckles led the two surface Mobians through the jungle on a winding course that seemed designed to keep them from memorizing their way. If this bothered Sonic at all he didn't show it, so Tails was not overly concerned either. Soon they came to a small clearing that housed a simple hut. Of course, it was only simple in the fact that it was constructed from local resources such as wood and rocks opposed to the brick and metal homes Tails was used to. In terms of actual construction, the building was quite impressive. Tall enough to have a second story, or at least a half of one, the hut even had a wooden lookout deck on its roof of sturdy palm leaves, and thick wooden columns to support its second story. Several palms grew nearby, between two of which was hung what looked like a hammock. Though he couldn't see it, the fox's sensitive ears could pick up the hum of electricity, indicating a generator of some sort was nearby.

_'Which only makes sense. He'd need to keep in contact with the other islands, wouldn't he?'_ Tails marveled at the building for a few seconds more before Sonic nudged the cub forward. Inside the hut had an interesting feel of the primitive mixing with the modern age. Again all the furniture was made from the abundant resources of the island, in many cases quite painstakingly, but he could see several examples that the hut's occupant was not quite as rustic as one might have thought. The best example of this was the big screen TV that sat in front of a handmade recliner. Near another wall was a desk, carved achingly from a single tree, on which an impressive computer sat. A fire pit was in the middle of the living room, the area around it black with soot in contrast to the shiny microwave that Tails could see in the kitchen. Another hammock, this one thicker and holding a pillow and a blanket, hung between a wall and a post, angled just so that an occupant could get an eyeful of the television if he so desired. All in all it looked more like an odd clubhouse than the stronghold of the Guardian of Angel Island.

Knuckles walked over to his desk and opened one of the drawers, rummaging around in it for a bit before pulling forth what looked like a small golden ring.

"Here we go. I can never find this thing after I put it up," the echidna said.

"What's that?"

"A warp ring," Sonic explained, much to Knuckles's annoyance. "Its how the echidnas are able to safely travel from island to island." The aforementioned echidna "harrumphed" and fanned his dreadlocks. "Well, one of the ways."

"That little thing lets you travel between islands?" the fox again asked, having trouble believing such a thing.

"Yeah, it's really cool. Knuckles just has to mmph mmph mmph." A spiked hand clamped over the hedgehog's flapping gums as Knuckles glared at him.

"Since these are my toys, how about I get to demonstrate them?" the echidna said as he flipped the ring through the air like a coin. The golden circle flipped through the air, expanding until it became big enough to resemble a round doorway hanging in mid air. Energy shimmered around its borders as Tails looked through its center. Much to his surprise, the foxboy did not see the other side of the hut as he would have thought, but instead a different room entirely.

"It's a portal!" he exclaimed. Immediately the impetuous cub tried to enter the shimmering doorway, only to be stopped by Knuckles's hand.

"Uh, since you two aren't technically supposed to be here, how about I go through first so the guards on the other side don't just attack first and not bother with the questions," Knuckles explained, approaching the warp ring. "I'll call you both to come over in a minute." With that, the echidna disappeared through the portal. Sonic and Tails just stood still for a few seconds, Sonic whistling a bored tune as he did so. Suddenly, Knuckles's head popped back through the portal. "Okay, we're clear."

Hedgehog and fox stepped through, materializing inside a gray room with several echidnas sitting at desks or milling around. Sonic couldn't help but notice the nasty look he was receiving from one of the red Mobians wearing a khaki shirt and a golden badge as well as a broad-brimmed hat on his head, marking him as a constable. This was the echidna that walked over to them.

"You know, I should throw you both in a cell, even considering your ages," he said in an angry voice that made Tails back away, lest he make good on his threat. Sonic just stared evenly into the constable's eyes. "You know tourists aren't allowed on Angel Island, not without the express permission of the Guardian."

"Relax bud, Knux is a friend of mine," Sonic pointed out.

"Then you should have petitioned to speak with him first for permission." The echidna took a step towards Sonic. "The rules are there for a reason, to protect everybody. You may be some sort of big shot on the surface, but up here no one is above the rules."

"And that should probably include the rule of breath mints, buddy," the hedgehog quipped back, covering his nose with his hand as he waved away the supposed bad breath. An angry look crossed the constable's face, but before he could do anything, Knuckles interjected.

"Excuse my friend, Constable. He's still suffering from jet lag and is obviously still cranky," Knuckles explained. It was clear this was a lie, but the echidna policeman also knew it wasn't exactly a smart idea to contradict Angel-Island's Guardian. If Knuckles was willing to vouch for the two mainlanders, then as far as the police were concerned they had carte blanche to be where ever they wanted to be. It may have rankled his dreadlocks, but Knuckles had never given any reason for anyone to doubt his judgment. Without saying a word, he turned around and let them leave.

"It bothers me, Sonic, it really does, that the six year old cub you're supposed to be raising knows how to act with more decorum than you do," Knuckles said as the trio left the police station. At his words, Tails beamed and received a look of mock annoyance from his big brother.

"Man, that guy was just a blowhard trying to win some points," the hedgehog retorted. "You can't let bullies like that push you around."

"No, he was a cop handling a delicate situation YOU put him in. If it's that easy for you to get onto Angel Island, that makes it look vulnerable and says the archipelago police aren't doing their jobs. And the next thing you know, NOBODY'S allowed to come up here who isn't an echidna."

"All right, all right, no need to go all ultimatum-y on me," Sonic said, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Um, where are we going?" Tails suddenly asked as he noticed that, even as they argued, the two teenagers were still walking as though they knew where they were going. Hedgehog and echidna turned to fox, a look of surprise on their faces.

"Where else, to the Casino Night Zone," they said in a very creepy unison.

"Huh?"

"It's where that Ferris Wheel we saw on the plane when we came in is, lil' bro," Sonic reminded the cub. "It's a really cool amusement park, with all sorts of rides, games, and shows going on, and a fireworks show every night at midnight. That's why we took it easy all morning; I didn't want you to burn out before we got to see it." At this description, Tails's eyes had gone wide with excitement. He loved amusement parks, or any place that had massive quantities of greasy, sugary, deliciously fried foods that he could easily obtain for that matter. And that he was going to be allowed to stay up to midnight was not an inconsiderable bonus.

"Yeah, too bad you two aren't gonna make it to the show. Ah-hah ha-ha!" came a very familiar, scratchy voice as a missile suddenly landed between Sonic and Tails, its explosion blowing the tow Mobians in separate directions. Only a few yards away Scratch stood, a smoking bazooka in his hands as Grounder stood by him, a pair of binoculars covering his eyes.

"Bull's eye Scratch," the robotic mole said happily before adding "or should I say, 'hedgehog's' eye." The two robots cackled evilly, only to stop as a sudden blue streak sliced through Scratch's weapon, causing it to fall into two perfectly symmetrical halves, one of which managed to crush the chicken man's foot.

"YEOWCH!" Scratch howled, grabbing his injured toes and hopping around on one foot.

"Don't you losers ever give it a rest?" Sonic asked as he stopped spinning and looked back at his two opponents. "I'm on vacation you know; can't you two just go raid a scrap yard or something?" Rather than quip back, Scratch only glared his metal "flesh" red with anger as he nursed his injury.

"Don't worry Scratch, I got him," Grounder assured his partner as his binoculars slipped back into his forearm, replaced instantly by a laser attachment. Quickly the robot took aim and fired a stream of red energy at Sonic. As he had countless times before, the hedgehog dodged, allowing the blast to strike a palm-tree, reducing it to ash.

"Geez, Grounder, you been shooting at me for how long and your aim is still as cruddy as ever," Sonic heckled, coming to a stop. "Here, I'll give you a freebie. I promise I won't move." The hedgehog crossed his arms, staring at the mole. "I'm waaaaaaiiiiting."

"Just hold on a little longer, you blue pincushion, and you don't need to wait any more," Grounder said as he took his aim. Suddenly his vision went dark as a trashcan slammed down over his head from above. "Hey, what happened?" he screamed, flailing his arms in fright. Above him Tails hovered, having airlifted the trashcan to repay the robots for their earlier sneak attack.

"Why you little freak!" Scratch yelled as he leapt for Tails, just missing grabbing the boy's sneakers.

"Woah!" Tails yelled before rising higher into the air and securely out of Scratch's reach. This didn't stop the robo-rooster from continuing to jump after him.

"Scratch look out!" Grounder yelled as a blue ball of spines suddenly slammed into his "twin's" midsection, rebounding off the hard steel even it sent Scratch flying backwards and crashing into a street lamp. Angrily the mecha-mole glared at the blue ball as it landed and uncurled to reveal Sonic. "Hey, that was a dirty trick! We're the only ones allowed to do dirty tricks!" Again Grounder took aim with his laser, and again Sonic, effortlessly dodged him. What couldn't dodge the destructive blasts however, were the surrounding buildings.

All of a sudden, Grounder felt a finger tapping him on the shoulder.

"'Scuse me. Mind telling me why you're blasting holes in my island?" asked a voice the robot didn't recognize. His domed head turned to see who was behind him, only to find himself looking at a mid-sized echidna glowering at him. Like thunder the echidna's fist collided with Grounder's face, sending the rather solid driller careening into his partner in a tangle of body-parts.

"Woah Knux, you didn't have to hit 'im that hard," Sonic commented as he surveyed the damage. The robots had come completely apart, limbs falling to the ground around their bodies as their heads wobbled in dazed confusion.

"I don't play around, Hedgehog. Put them down and put them down hard, that's my motto," the echidna responded as Tails set down beside them. "Now, mind telling me who these two yahoos are and why they're taking potshots at you?"

"Oh sorry, how rude of me," Sonic stated, feigning an apologetic voice. "Knuckles, the dumb-bots. Dumb-bots, Knuckles."

"Hello," the two still dazed machines said in unison, not quite yet in control of their own processors. A distinctly unamused look appeared on Knuckles's face as he glared at Sonic. Having friends visit was one thing, but the becoming involved in a battle was quite another.

"Usually they're on the hunt for me on the surface, but if they're here that means Buttnik's probably up here as well, and up to something." Sonic's ears twitched as he thought about what his arch-nemesis could be up to on the archipelago.

"'Buttnik?' As in Dr. Robotnik, the guy you're always fighting?"

"You know any other guys who fit the description?" Knuckles crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"This is a problem. Robotnik is supposed to be a world-class menace. I don't like the idea of a guy like that up here and unwatched. Especially if I'm not there to protect the islands' emerald." The red echidna turned from his friend. "Sorry guys, but we're gonna have to do this whole 'day off' thing another time." Suddenly Sonic grabbed hold of his ruby colored friend.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. This ain't a problem. Robotnik's more a nut-job than a menace, and we just took out like two-thirds of his whole army," the hedgehog said. "If that rotten old egg man IS up here, all we gotta do is find him and bounce his butt off the island. Easy peasey guaranteesy."

"And all that sounds just a little bit cheesy," Knuckles pointed out. "You understand this isn't just some simple plan that can easily be undone, right? If he takes the Archipelago's emerald, it ceases to become a flying island chain. And if that happens, countless lives will be lost, all because you don't want to take this seriously and interrupt your fun."

"Knux, who's the Robotnik expert around here?" Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Trust me, it's better to take down lard-lips BEFORE he gets his ego rolling rather than wait and defend against him. If he's here too, he's gotta be staying somewhere, right? All we gotta do is find him." So saying, the blue hedgehog marched over to the pieces of Scratch and Grounder, bending over to look at them. "So how's about it guys? Where's ol' eggbelly set up shop?" Scratch's head suddenly began to shake itself, an impressive feat since it had no visible means to do so.

"Oh no hedgehog, we're not that dumb," the chicken said. "We're not gonna just spill the beans on where Robotnik is."

"Yeah. Besides, he'd cream us if we did," Grounder retorted. At this Sonic shook his head, tsking as he did so. Then he twisted on his heel and sat down in the street right between the two disembodied heads. In response both chicken and mole shifted so they could turn up their noses at this apparently friendly gesture.

"Guys, guys, guys," the hedgehog hero began. "How long have we known each other? We're practically buddies ourselves." Neither robot was moved by this. "You know how this is gonna play out. You'll insult me, I'll insult you, you'll take about five or ten minutes to figure out I did so, then one of you two will unknowingly say the exact thing I need to know to take down Robotnik. It's karma, it's kismet, it's fate." Suddenly, Sonic's hands grabbed hold of both of the badnik's and forcibly swiveled them around to look in the same direction. "Unfortunately, I don't think my pal Knuckles here is overly interested in waiting for that to play out." Right before the two minions' eyes, Knuckles grabbed hold of fire hydrant that had been damaged during the previous fight and crushed it against his head as effortlessly as a normal Mobian would have crushed a soda can.

Never before had either Scratch or Grounder's eyes grown so large.

"He's in the penthouse suite of the Sky Cap Hotel, the same hotel you guys are staying at!" Scratch suddenly squawked.

"Yeah, yeah, Coconuts is up there with him. He's the one who spotted you guys leaving!" Grounder followed. "Here take my card key." About five feet away from the robo-mole's head, the door on his limbless torso suddenly popped open, a hand rising out of it holding the aforementioned key-card. Tails nonchalantly walked over to the robot body and took the card.

"Um, this says Certified Chassis Inspect- Hey!" Grounder's helping hand suddenly snatched the card away from cub.

"Oops. Wrong card," he apologized as Sonic shot him an unamused look. The sound of rummaging could be heard in the metal shell as the hand returned holding a new card. "This should be the right one." Again Tails took the offered card.

"Are we done with this traveling vaudeville act?" Knuckles asked, clearly getting tired of the wasting of time.

"Only one more thing to do," Sonic said as he gathered up Scratch and Grounder's heads.

"H-Hey! What'r'ya doing?" the chicken asked indignantly as Sonic walked over to a nearby dumpster.

"Whaddya think? I'm keeping the island beautiful and picking up the garbage." So saying, he dumped both heads inside the metal dumpster while Tails tossed in the limbs and such. "All right guys, looks like we got an eggbelly to scramble," Sonic said as he grabbed hold of Tails and Knuckles and prepared to run off. The echidna jerked his arm out of Sonic's hand.

"I'm nobody's papoose, Sonic. I can make it on my own," he said gruffly.

"Sure? It's quicker if you ride the ol' hedgehog express."

"Just try to keep up with me if you can hedgehog," Knuckles responded before taking off. Sonic cast a knowing look back at Tails who was on his back before taking off himself.

Meanwhile, inside the dumpster, Scratch and Grounder listened to the sound of their enemies racing off. Suddenly a ringing bell was heard coming from Grounder's torso. Again the little door popped open and the helping hand appeared holding a telephone. The arm moved over to Grounder, placing the receiver against his head.

"Oh hey Doctor Robotnik," the mech-mole happily said. "Yeah, we met up with Sonic and his bratty friend just like you said. Yes we told him where you are, just like you told us to."

"Ooh-ooh, tell him it was ME who gave the hedgehog the information he wanted," Scratch told his younger brother. Grounder got a nasty look on his face.

"But it was ME who gave the fox brat the card key they need to get in to the suite. That's more important than just saying where ta go," the mole responded, his voice rising a few octaves as he began to whine.

"What can they do with the key card? Open every door on the island? You just followed MY lead so they would go."

"Nuh-uh, the card has the hotel's name printed on it. I checked," Grounder responded, smiling. "If anything, I made sure YOUR information didn't cause them to try to sneak into the hotel."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Will you to simpletons STOP YAMMERING!" came the voice of Dr. Robotnik through the phone receiver. The irate eggman's voice was so loud and forceful the earpiece actually began to move about like an actual mouth, complete with teeth and tongue. Both Scratch and Grounder gave the device a fearful look as they could practically see the angry face of their creator looking at them through the phone lines. "All I want to know is if Sonic is on the way!"

"Well, we think so. He an' that fox brat kinda threw us in a dumpster," Grounder responded. "But from the sounds of it they're on their way."

"Excellent," Mobius's Most-Least Wanted Criminal Scientist said. "I'll send Coconuts to pick the two of you up. That way Sonic and his little friend are all mine to play with." At their lord and master's good humor, both of the lackey's began to cackle madly along with them. So loud was their mirth that they failed to hear the back-up sirens coming from outside the dumpster. With a loud bang, the trash receptacle was suddenly lifted into the air at an angle. Both robots screamed as they found themselves tumbling quite literally head over heels into the waiting garbage truck.

* * *

Sonic and Tails made it to Sky Cap, waiting only a couple minutes before they were joined by Knuckles.

"Not quite as fast as you thought you were, huh Red?" Sonic snarked at the echidna.

"I would have gotten here first too if I'd just decided to ignore all the traffic lights," retorted the Guardian. "And yes, I count leaping over busy intersections as ignoring them."

"Quibble, quibble, quibble," Sonic said as he let Tails off his back. Quickly the fox cub opened the hotel door for the two teens. As soon as Knuckles entered, the desk manager clapped his hands.

"Guardian Knuckles," the purple echidna exclaimed, quite happy as he started to envision what a boon it would be to his hotel's business to say he'd hosted the most famous echidna on the Archipelago. Knuckles approached the Mobian.

"We need to go up to the penthouse," he said quickly. The manager's face fell just a little bit.

"I'm sorry, sir, but the penthouse suite has already been occupied. By a Professor…" he made a few quick keystrokes on the computer, "Byumen. Al Byumen. Yes, Professor Al Byumen." Sonic cast an aside glance to Tails.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like a cover name." The manager gave the hedgehog an annoyed look. Knuckles ignored both.

"Be that as it may, I'm still…"

"Ahem," Sonic interrupted. Now it was the Guardian's turn to look annoyed.

"Right. 'WE'RE' still going up there. We have business with 'Professor Byumen.'"

"Shall I ring him to let him know you're coming?" the Mobian offered helpfully as the three began to leave. Sonic whirled around on one foot and began walking backwards.

"Nah, it'll be a surprise," he called back to the manager before adding. "Though you might want to call Island Security."

"Oh my," responded the beleaguered echidna.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles filed into the elevator, Knuckles hitting the button corresponding to the penthouse. He perhaps hit it with just a little more force than he'd intended if the bang was any indication. As they ascended, the echidna began to bounce in place, warming up for the inevitable confrontation that was always the most favorite part of his job. He loved the instant respect being the Guardian got him, and the privacy when he wanted, and being asked to officiate things like openings and parades was pretty cool too, but deep down in his heart, Knuckles always relished a fight. It was what he lived for. Unfortunately, as the Guardian, he was usually the last line of defense for the Archipelago's safety, meaning most threats got resolved long before he could get involved. Now he was going to face an actual super-villain and, he had to admit, he was just a bit excited to see what the nefarious doctor was going to throw at them.

_'Too bad this will all be over so quickly,'_ he lamented. _'But better to make it quick than give him a chance to overrun the island.'_ All through the elevator ride Knuckles continued to skip in place, warming up even as Sonic and Tails cast their crimson comrade worried looks. Finally, the elevator door opened, and they made their way to their destination. Tails was given the card key to open the door with. That way Knuckles and Sonic could rush in and take the brunt of any surprises Robotnik might have for unexpected guests.

Like twin bolts of lightning, hedgehog and echidna raced into the suite, both taking up fighting stances. What they found was not exactly what they'd expected.

Dr. Robotnik was looking at them in surprise as he sat on a couch, his head wrapped in a towel, wearing a fluffy pink robe while he clipped his toe-nails.

"S-Sonic?" the human said as the rollers in his moustache fell to the floor at his sudden movement. Under his breath he muttered, "Drat, I thought I had a little more time."

"Should we… come back in about five minutes or something?" the blue hedgehog asked, clearly uncomfortable catching his nemesis THIS off-guard.

"No, no. This should be sufficient my dear hedgehog," the menacing master of machines said in his most civil and friendly voice, standing before the three interloping Mobians. Clearing his throat, the doctor stood and assumed his most imperious pose, holding out his arm as he gestured towards his mortal enemy. "So, I am to take it my nin-com-bots failed in their mission with their usual incompetence. No matter, for now you'll face the brilliant mind of Dr. Robot-"

"Okay, seriously, I don't want to fight you while you're naked," Sonic complained again, completely derailing the not-so-good doctor's villainous rant. Robotnik's face turned beet red as he glared at the blue interrupter.

"Oh for the love of… Will you give it a rest you foul-minded idiot? Besides I'm wearing," suddenly Robotnik tore open his robe to reveal, "shower shorts." Robotnik's face quickly became much more calm and controlled. "For the man who has nothing to hide, but wants to anyway." It was at this point that Knuckles's patience with all of this finally wore out.

"Listen 'Dorothy,'" he said in his most no nonsense voice. "We're here to put the kibosh on whatever dastardly plan you have for my islands. So either bring out whatever nasty surprises you've got in store for us so I can trash them, or surrender and let me take you in so I can get on with my day." As he said this, Knuckles assumed his most favorite threatening stance; one foot forward, one foot back, his right fist raised to point at his adversary with his fingers pointed upward as his left arm remained behind, bent at the elbow. He actually looked a little like an overheated teapot. Robotnik's eyes took in the fearsome echidna warrior that stood before him.

"I'm sorry my good man, but I haven't the foggiest idea who you are," the Doctor politely pointed out. "Do I know you?"

"Don't patronize me you rotten egg!" Knuckles shot back, the vein in his head pulsing considerably as he took another step towards the human. That Sonic and Tails were both chuckling at this didn't help matters. "I am Knuckles, the Guardian of the Flying Archipelago." Recognition suddenly flashed across the doctor's face.

"Ah yes, I read about you in the island's brochure," Robotnik admitted. "Though I fail to see what crime you think I'm going to commit here. I'm just a tourist on vacation."

"So Scratch and Grounder were just going haywire?" Sonic quipped back. Robotnik put on his smarmiest smile.

"Sonic, I'm hurt. When 'friends' cross each other's path while on vacation, are they not permitted to have a little fun?"

"Not like that," Knuckles said. "Now you're coming along with us. At the very least wanted criminals from the surface aren't allowed up here, so I know you didn't have permission to arrive." The red echidna began to stalk forward, ready to drag the overweight human away and be done with him. A part of him sulked at how easy this whole confrontation had been. A few barbs and insults, but no real opportunity to flex his muscles. He had seen the surface world's greatest criminal mastermind and he was not impressed.

What he didn't see was Robotnik's hand sliding into the pocket of his robe ever so casually.

"Hey Knuckles, watch out!" the sharp-eyed Tails yelled. Unfortunately, this warning merely caused Knuckles to look back at the cub, providing Dr. Robotnik the opportunity he needed. With a wicked grin the maniacal megalomaniac swung his arm, hurling the contents of his pocket at the echidna. It turned out to be a small capsule which shattered rather forebodingly against the Guardian's manly chest. Knuckles looked down to see that the attack had left what looked like a purple smear in his crimson fur.

"Eww!" the echidna cried as his hand went to wipe the purple goo from him. All that succeeded in doing was to make the smear bigger and spread it to his glove. "What is this crud?" he asked as the goo began to expand of its own accord, spreading over his body even as it began to bubble up. Sonic and Tails moved to help their friend but as they began to try to remove the purple stuff, it simply spread to them. Worse, it was continuing to expand.

"Sonic this stuff's making it hard to move," Tails complained as those parts of his body that were covered in purple began to stick together. Very soon his hands became stuck to his hips. Sonic too was having a difficult time moving with the goo, a problem that was getting worse as the stuff expanded in the air. Robotnik cackled as he watched this.

"It's no use struggling, hedgehog. That is my special Egg-Taffy. The un-intended by product of an experiment I did. The longer it is exposed to oxygen, the stickier and harder it becomes, and the more it expands. Eventually it will engulf your entire bodies, rendering you both helpless."

"Your fancy little glue bomb isn't going to stop me," Knuckles responded, moving forward as he pulled his arm free with a loud snapping of sticky strands and ripping fur.

"I must admit your arrival caught be a bit by surprise Knuckles, but it wasn't entirely out of left field. Even with the prodigious strength your people possess, my egg-taffy should be more than a match for you with sufficient time. Hence why I hit you first." Sure enough Knuckles was starting to feel the taffy impeding his movements, though he refused to let that become common knowledge. He made it about five feet towards Robotnik before his feet refused to leave the floor thanks to the goo that had spread to them. Very soon all three Mobians were completely immobilized.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Robotnik cackled grabbing hold of the shoulder of his robe and throwing the entire thing off. Somehow or another he was now wearing his standard red, black, and yellow uniform, his chest puffing out in pride at his accomplishment. "Now you see the true genius of IVO Robotnik!"

"What genius?" Sonic asked, still struggling against the purple stuff. "All you did was get gum in our fur." Like a flung needle striking a balloon, Robotnik's chest deflated as he growled angrily at the flippant hedgehog.

"You won't think my Egg-Taffy is so hum-drum when you see what I plan to do to you and your little friends, hedgehog," the demented doctor said as he once more reached into a pocket and this time pulled out a ray gun. Anyone else might have been afraid they were going to now meet their end with something as simple as a gunshot, but Sonic knew that the only thing Dr. Robotnik loved more than the sound of his own voice was showing off his supposed brilliance. The bald bad-man would more than likely have preferred to chew of his own moustache than pass up a chance to show off how smart he thought he was. As the trigger to the gun was pulled, a green energy field extended from the tip of the barrel and surrounded Knuckles before moving on to Sonic and Tails. With the ripping of felt from the carpet, the three were lifted off floor as Robotnik raised his gun, with the echidna gravitating over to join his two friends.

"I've seen this before, haven't I?" Sonic asked, again feigning boredom in order to get his adversary's goat. In the proverbial sense at least.

"As a matter of fact it's a miniaturized version of the very same anti-gravity field I used on you not too long ago when I was feuding with that twerp, Professor What's-His-Name. I don't get as much lift, mind you, but for you three it is more than sufficient." With that, the Doctor turned and walked, the beam dragging Sonic and Co. along for the ride. Soon they found themselves looking at two large metal cylinders, the same metal cylinders Scratch and Grounder had been moving around earlier.

"Now, behold my latest, greatest, most sensational creation. My Hyperbolic Egg Chambers!" the evil dictator-to-be boasted with great enthusiasm, he turned back to his captives to discover that, rather than be impressed, all three looked quite bored. Immediately Robotnik's face flushed red with rage. "HEY!"

"What?" Sonic asked, suddenly refocusing in on his archenemy. "Oh sorry. Usually you spend a few more minutes ranting about whatever new toy you've come up with. So what's the skinny this time?"

"The skinny, my dear hedgehog is this. These are transportation chambers, capable of teleporting a person anywhere in the world- eh, as long as there's another chamber where they're going."

"Pfft," Knuckles suddenly chuckled. "You expect me to be impressed by that? The echidnas have had teleportation technology for years. And we're not limited on where we can teleport." Again Robotnik did a slow burn.

"Why does everyone feel the need to state that?" he growled. "I know you echidnas have teleporters, those warp-rings of yours. Why do you think I came up here?" At this Sonic and Tails looked surprised.

"The warp-rings? That's why you're up here?" Sonic asked. "I thought you were interested in the chaos emerald." This time it was Robotnik's turn to laugh.

"That thing? These idiots can keep their precious emerald. I'm through dealing with those unreliable rocks," he said before approaching the three hovering Mobians. "Buuuuut with the warp-rings, imagine what I can do. I can teleport a whole army from one end of the planet to the next. I can go wherever I want. No defense can thwart me, no one can stop me."

"It won't work like that. The rings only have enough power to pull so much matter between two spots," Knuckles pointed out. "Looks like you wasted a trip up here."

"Why does everyone assume I don't know what I'm talking about? Does the whole 'Doctor'-thing just go over your heads?" the irritated madman growled. "Once I combine my Egg-Chambers with your warp-rings, I'll be able to circumvent both of their limitations. And Mobius will be at my mercy. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"You'll never get away with this you mean old eggbelly," Tails yelled at the would-be conqueror.

"And who's going to stop me? Not only do I have you and your speedy blue friend, but you've so graciously delivered to me the only echidna who might have stopped me from snatching the rings." Then a sinister smile spread across Robotnik's fat face. "And, since you are here, you can help me satisfy my scientific curiosity about my chambers." So saying the egg-shaped humanoid pointed his mini gravity ray and sent the trio of Mobians into one of the cabinets. "You see, I've never been able to send more than one object at a time through the transport at a time. Every time I try, the results are just a mashed up pile of junk. But what is progress without experimentation." Robotnik slammed the door on the cabinet shut. "If this works, the three of you will have the honor of being the first group teleportation in Mobian history, a fact I'll be sure to note when I make the revised history books. If not, well, I'll just have to have Grounder clean out the inside of the chambers." Gleefully the maniacal madman threw the switch on the side of the machine, starting it up.

Inside the three Mobians started to struggle again, clearly not interested in having their insides become their outsides.

"Sonic what are we gonna do?" Tails begged, looking to his hero for some reassurance that everything was going to be okay. Sonic grunted and growled as the hard, sticky much held him fast.

"I'm open to suggestions, Big Guy," the hedgehog announced as he struggled valiantly. Nearby Knuckles was getting quite sick of this whole thing.

"It's like being trapped in cement," he said testily. "If I was on the outside, I could break it easy, but here I can't generate any force." The echidna turned to his azure ally. "Can't you, like, vibrate your body fast enough phase through this stuff or something?" Sonic looked at the red warrior for a bit.

"You read too many comics, Knux," Sonic responded, unwilling to reveal that that was precisely what he had been trying to do for a while now, though he apparently lacked the fine muscle control to make it work.

"Hey, the floor's getting warm!" Tails exclaimed, being the one closest to feel it.

"That's not good, that means this cockamamie machine is about to go," Knuckles growled.

"But the mucky stuff is getting all soft again," the fox observed. Indeed, inside the snot colored crystal, he had become able to wiggle his fist. Not by much, but enough to be noticed.

"Heat must turn this stuff back to liquid," stated Sonic.

"Brilliant stating of the obvious, but what does that get us?" the angry echidna asked.

"Everybody start rocking, we need to get this so Knuckles is on the bottom."

"What good's that going to do us?" Though he asked this question, Knuckles through his own might into the rocking motion of the other two. He didn't have any better ideas to work with.

"We don't have time to melt this stuff, and that wouldn't help us anyway since it would just become the same sticky mess that got us in the first place. But if we weaken it enough for you to move a bit, you can break us out of here," the hedgehog explained, just as the hardened prison toppled over. The sound of humming machinery and electronics was getting louder. "Uh, any time now Guardian."

"Give me a minute," Knuckles complained. The rock around him softened and he began to strain hard, gritting his teeth in determination. The echidna warrior was not about to let this be the way he met his end. All of his ancestors would never stop laughing at him.

With a mighty heave and roar, the dried muck shattered, freeing the Mobians from captivity. Like a ball of lightning Sonic attacked the metal walls, ricocheting about as he attempted to cause as much damage as possible.

"Stop that! You're wrecking my machine!" Robotnik wailed as he watched the spectacle through the chamber's glass. Already wiring was being exposed as the hedgehog attacked, joined by Knuckles in his attempts to get free. Even as they worked, the resilient chamber continued to power up. This mattered little to the distraught inventor.

The Egg-Chamber was starting to smoke, its internal systems sizzling from the damage it had taken even as inside it began the process of pulling Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles apart molecule by molecule. Growling at how inconsiderate his three captives were, and sensing an imminent explosion, Robotnik turned and pulled out the emergency remote he kept for just such an occasion. At the push of a button, one of the walls of his suite exploded as his prized Egg-O-Matic hovercraft made its appearance.

"Fine then," he yelled back to his prisoners. "Whether you're dissolved or blown up, it makes no difference to me. One way or another you're out of my hair." With a leap the egg-shaped scientist jumped into his craft, squashing Coconuts in the process. "Move over you ignorant primate!" Quickly pressing some buttons, he got the ship moving, zooming away from the abandoned suite just as it was destroyed in a fiery explosion.

To be Continued…


End file.
